1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to blankets for animals, specifically an improved and safer body blanket for covering and protecting hoofed and domesticated animals such as horses and dogs.
2. Prior Art
A typical, wearable blanket for use on an animal such as a horse is intended to provide protection from harsh weather and other environmental conditions and keep the animal's body dry and warm. It is also desirable to have a blanket that is as comfortable and safe as possible for the animal.
Previously, blankets such as horse blankets, stable blankets, turnout blankets, or turnout rugs were designed for the primary purpose of protecting the animal from harsh weather and made to fit to the horse's body by covering the animal from the neck to the tail and draping along the sides. The blanket would be held in place using a series of straps in locations such as across the front/chest of the horse just below the neck, across the belly area between the front and rear legs, and possibly under the tail. U.S. Pat. No. 1,028,138 to Schleicher (1912) represents a typical early variation of this type of blanket.
Thereafter, inventors made improvements with the primary purposes of improving fit and comfort and decreasing rubbing, chafing, and friction-related injuries. U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,300 to Hathcock (2005) discloses a horse blanket with a combination of hook and loop fasteners, strap and fasteners, and elasticized neck circumference at the chest and neck of the animal, elasticized gussets in the front leg area, elastic straps around the rear legs, and elastic straps across the belly. U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,244 to Kelley et al. (2002) shows a combination of closure flap assembly across the chest and elastic straps, clips, and securements around the neck. Other U.S. patents and patent applications have described blankets with cutouts over the legs combined with straps and surcingles across the belly and blankets with a modular covering system utilizing a complex system of different fabrics, anti-rub devices, hooks and loops, tabs, snap connectors, straps, and draw strings.
While the previous blankets incorporate features to improve the fit and comfort for the animal with the primary purpose being to cover and protect the animal from harsh weather, none of them focus on the safety of the animal and many of them suffer from a number of disadvantages:
(a) Their means of attachment to the horse can result in injury to the animal. For example, blankets using straps across the belly can lead to the horse getting his or her legs caught in the straps resulting in death or very dire injuries. Furthermore, if straps used to secure the blanket at the horse's chest, belly, legs, or tail were to open, come loose, or brush up against an object in the field or stall, the blanket could snag, get caught, or change position which could move the blanket into an uncomfortable and unsafe position and even terrorize the animal into doing itself grave harm or worse. For these reasons, it is often recommended that straps, especially elastic straps, be replaced yearly.
(b) The use of elastic bands, straps, and gussets to give the horse better movement and comfort results in the same snagging and safety issues as for straps. Also, the use of these components increases the possibility of having hanging straps and other components in a location where the horse can bite or chew on them.
(c) The combination of several different means of attachment (i.e., adjustable straps and hook and loop fasteners) or complex attachment systems increases the difficulty and time required in taking the blanket on and off of the horse.
(d) The use of a blanket material that is unable to stretch or give with the horse's movements can cause discomfort and misalignment of the blanket despite having features with elastic properties such as an elasticized circumference around the neck opening and use of gussets.
(e) Straps in locations such as across the belly and the use of gussets can result in chafing or friction-related injuries by drawing the blanket material taut at the horse's legs, causing blanket material to gather around the upper regions of the legs, or resulting in the blanket becoming trapped between the horse's inner legs and its body when the horse moves.
(f) The use of elastic material around the circumference of the neck opening may allow free movement and improve the ability of the horse to lower it's head to the ground; however, if the material is stretched too much or loses some of its elastic properties, the blanket may slip down to contact the points of the horse's shoulders. When the blanket slips down to the contact points of the horse's shoulders, it is no longer in a stable, relatively motionless position and instead the movement of the horse's shoulders can cause friction-related injury such as the hair being rubbed off around the neck or at the horse's withers.
(g) Elastic material around the circumference of the neck opening may be stretched too much or lose some of its elastic properties, causing the blanket to be pulled towards the horse's hindquarters. This misalignment of the blanket will make it unattractive on the horse.
(h) The lack of a means to attach an optional over-blanket or sheet prevents the use of an over-blanket made of highly durable material to provide extra protection to the blanket from damage from hazards such as barbed wire or rough play with and biting by other horses.
3. Objects and Advantages
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
(a) to provide an animal blanket that is safer through the use of mutually attachable connecting material rather than straps to fit and secure the blanket to the animal at its chest and around the upper part of its legs;
(b) to provide an animal blanket that is more actively wearable and comfortable through the use of a combination of stretch material and mutually attachable connecting material;
(c) to provide an animal blanket that may be easily and quickly placed on and removed from the animal through the use of stretch material and mutually attachable connecting material;
(d) to provide an animal blanket that is able to stretch and give with the animal's movements while minimizing shifting or misalignment and ensuring a stable and close fit on the animal through the use of a combination of stretch material and mutually attachable connecting material;
(e) to provide an animal blanket that minimizes the possibility of friction-related injury by minimizing shifting or misalignment and ensuring a stable and close fit on the animal through the use of a combination of stretch material and mutually attachable connecting material at the upper regions of the animal's legs;
(f) to provide an animal blanket that minimizes the possibility of friction-related injury around the neck area by keeping the neck opening above the animal's shoulders through the use of a combination of stretch material, a firm or substantially inelastic material for substantially the entire circumference of the neck area, and mutually attachable connecting material;
(g) to provide an animal blanket that minimizes the possibility of the blanket being pulled to an unattractive position toward the animal's hindquarters by keeping the neck opening above the animal's shoulders through the use of a combination of stretch material, mutually attachable connecting material, and a firm or substantially inelastic material for substantially the entire circumference of the neck area; and
(h) to provide an animal blanket that will allow easy and quick attachment of an over-blanket or sheet through the use of a strip of mutually attachable connecting material along the animal's back between the head and tail end of the blanket that will couple to corresponding mutually attachable connecting material on the over-blanket and straps attached to the blanket at the shoulder area that will loop through one or more grommets on the over-blanket and join up with the same strap by using mutually attachable connecting material on the strap.
Another object and advantage is to provide an animal blanket that prevents the stretching of the blanket out of shape over time through the use of a narrow elastic band along the outside edges of the blanket to help maintain the integrity of the blanket's original shape. Still another object and advantage is to eliminate the need for a belly strap through the use of a narrow elastic band along the outside edges of the blanket to keep the blanket taut along the sides of the animal. Still another object and advantage is to provide an animal blanket that limits the stretch of the material in pressure points or high-stress areas through the use of rigid or semi-rigid reinforcements attached at the pressure points or high-stress areas. Still another object and advantage is to provide an animal blanket that limits the stretch along the portion of the blanket that sits on the back of the animal through the use of a strip of firm or substantially inelastic material along the animal's back between the head end and tail end of the blanket, thus helping to maintain the blanket's original length. Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.